As he neared the broken wooden palisade fence, a sharpshooter wounded him in the left leg, about three inches above the knee. (Lamb had instructed his best shots to aim at the Union officers.) Another officer helped Evans bandage the wound and he got up again and led his men to that palisade. Approaching the base of the parapet, another shot struck him in the right knee, causing it to bleed profusely.
Unable to stand, he began bandaging himself again when another shot entered the soul of his shoe and took off the rip of one of his toes and wrenched his ankle. This so enraged Evans that he rolled over to face his antagonist, standing just 35-yards away and shot him in the throat, causing him to fall down the parapet and land near the young ensign.
Many of Evans' men and officers lay dead and wounded around him. A Marine from his ship, Private Wasmouth, rescued Evans and eventually dragged him to a place of safety. Another sharpshooter's bullet hit the Marine and caused him to bleed to death at the feet of the man he had just saved.
The rest of the column turned and began running to safety. The Confederates stood up and started cheering only to be appalled by U.S. flags flying on the western parapets. With Confederate attention focused on the northeast bastion, the Army had entered the fort. Much fighting continued, but this was the turning point of the battle and the fort fell.
So, "Fighting Bob" was sure fighting earlier in his career.
One Brave Young Officer. --Old B-Runner
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